Point Park University’s women’s volleyball team seems as if has been the most successful team at the school in the past year.  The Pioneers were 32-8 last season and that leads me to believe they are ready for another run with many returning faces.            So far this season the Pioneers are already 11-4 overall and have not even started conference play yet.             Last year at the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament, the Pioneers broke the school record with 15 consecutive wins.            This Pioneer squad has a lot of players returning from their historical season last year, and to me this can only mean a boost for the program this year.            The return of all-conference players, senior ride-side hitter Rachel Roddy, senior middle hitter Ashley Zietak, sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Oberracker, and junior setter Katie Geary are the big names returning for the Pioneers after a 0solid season in 2009.            The Pioneer offense ranked 15th in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) last season for total kills.  Roddy led the team iwith 439.  I can only see that number increasing for next season.             The loss of junior outsi hitter, Zoe Hughes will be a huge blow for the Pioneers this season. She is recovering from tearing both her ACL MCL, including her meniscus in her left knee.  Hughes contributed a lot last season with over 200 kills for the Pioneers. She will be missed, but all hope for a speedy recovery.             This roster only has three seniors: Rachel Roddy, Angela Nelson and Ashley Zietak. This leads me to believe that this team has a lot of young talent from last year, and this program is going to be very competitive for years to come.             The Pioneers have welcomed six freshmen to the squad including Nicole Wurstle, Kyleigh Whitsel, Chelsea Katkich, Taylor Roddy and Courtney Seronka. Taylor Roddy is Rachel Roddy’s sister, and Taylor has some big shoes to fill for the Pioneers after Rachel graduates.             The Pioneers have an 11-4 record so far and begin conference play on September 21 against their cross-town rival, Carlow University.             The Pioneers split their matches at Wheeling Jesuit University winning 1 of 2 matches, including a sweep of West Virginia State University but fell to Wheeling Jesuit.  They were recently undefeated in the Pioneer invitational. Other competing teams included Seton Hill University, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and Slippery Rock University.            The latest NAIA ranked the Pioneers fourth in the AMC behind Malone University, Mount Vernon Nazarene University and Walsh University.              My Pioneer prospect to watch this season for the women is sophomore defensive specialist Margaret Gillooly. In their last game against West Virginia State University she had a team-high of 12 digs and also recorded 13 digs in the Pioneer Invitational.             For those, like myself, do not know what a “dig” is in volleyball, it is when the opponent attempts a spike and your player stops it from hitting the ground.             There’s your fun fact for the day.             Keep it up Pioneers, and I hope to see you in the AMC Tournament again this season.            Your time is up in the penalty box.